


Happy Birthday dear Katie

by CharnaBelle



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Forgotten Birthday, Romance, SHIDGE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-14 10:41:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10534809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharnaBelle/pseuds/CharnaBelle
Summary: Pidge is ecstatic to finally turn eighteen, but upon waking up on the morning of her birthday, she realises that she may be the only one who actually cares.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FireflyHannah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireflyHannah/gifts).



Pidge woke up at seven thirty, like she did most mornings, she got dressed, brushed her hair, and then went to look for breakfast. A smile on her face because today was the day that she finally turned eighteen. They others had all turned eighteen a few years ago, they had practically rubbed it in her face for weeks that they were adults, and now she was one two. 

She could hear the others in the kitchen and she stepped into the room filled with loud talking.  
“Good morning!” She brightly said, they didn’t greet her, they were all more interested in Lance and Keith’s argument. Had it been any other day, she probably would have been listening in on it too. “Err, good morning!” She repeated.  
“Hey Pidge.” Hunk said, finally turning to her, waving and then turning back.  
“Huh.” She mumbled to herself and then started to make her breakfast. 

She sat at the far end of the table, away from the bickering pair. Eating her own food in silence, somewhat disheartened now compared to how she had felt when she first got up. I probably should have reminded them she thought to herself. She finished her goo and ditched her bowl into the sink.  
“I’ll be in the lab.” She quietly said, leaving again, Hunk waved at her again but Lance and Keith were still arguing too much to have even noticed her enter or leave. 

“Is everything all right with Pidge?” Shiro asked, passing her in the doorway, he paused and waited for her to be out of earshot before talking.  
“She seemed fine to me.” Hunk said. “She’s probably just thinking about an experiment. She is going to that lab after all.”  
“Lance! Keith! Cut it out.” Shiro shouted at the pair and they jumped.  
“Oh, morning Shiro.” Lance said, finally noticing him.  
“Did either of you notice that something was off with Pidge this morning?”  
“Pidge came in here?” Keith asked.  
“Yes, she literally just left.”  
“Oh.” 

Pidge sat down at the desk, pulling her notes towards her. She caught sight of the picture of her and Matt on her desk and she picked it up to look at it.  
“I’m an adult now Matt.” She sighed. “You aren’t the only one who missed it though. I guess it doesn’t matter now. Another year older, another year without you.” She set the photo down before she could accidentally make herself cry. She scrubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. She took a deep breath. “Ok, time to get to work. It’s just another day after all.” 

She turned her computer on and read through her notes as it started up, she had two research projects running, one of them being an upgrade for the lions, hopefully a way to make the yellow lion faster, and the other being research into the healing pods, and if they could use that technology in another way. Simulations for the latter study were still running but the first one was done. She looked over the results, tutting to herself about the margin of improvement that was nowhere near what she wanted to have been able to choose.

“Is today just going to be a shit day?” She asked herself. Her head hit the desk with a thunk. She was already thinking of what she could do next. She could maybe improve power in its legs, but that could easily go wrong. So very wrong. She looked up at her computer and erased the simulation and most of the data, she wouldn’t need it anymore, no need to clog up her hard drive with useless statistics.  
Going through notes to plan more experiments, she jumped as her computer dinged, letting her know that the second simulation was done.  
“Yes!” She shouted, spinning around on her chair. “Finally, something good.” It would work, theoretically at least. They needed better healing technology, they were constantly getting hurt and if they could get fixed up in their lions instead of returning to the palace, it would be so usefully. She could work on beginning to set it up in one of the lions, probably the black lion since Shiro had a tendency of throwing himself it harms way, to see if it will work.

She gathered the things that she needed and headed down into the hangar. She climbed up into the lion, chatting to it as she went, not that it would reply, before she went back for more equipment. It took her three trips to bring all of the equipment that she needed. She sat on the floor, talking and humming as she worked, wrench in hand. 

“Pidge? Are you in here?” She heard Allura, she dropped down from the lion.  
“I’m here.” She said, waving at the much taller woman.  
“What were you doing?” She asked.  
“Working on giving us the capabilities to see to our own injuries in our lions. I thought I may as well start with the person who gets injured the most.”  
“Could it wait? Coran needs help.” Pidge nodded, holding back a sigh, part of her had been hoping that Allura had remembered her birthday, but the request made her realise straight away that she had forgotten as well. Everyone had it would seem. 

“Allura said you needed me?” A dejected Pidge said to Coran.  
“Yes, I need someone to re-align these crystals for me. You are the only one small enough to fit through.” Pidge now had to fight the urge to stamp her feet like a child. She was not a child. She was an adult, not that anyone could remember that. Instead she just nodded, hoping Coran thought nothing of the slight flush of annoyance to her face. 

It took her three attempts and twenty minutes in an incredibly cramped space before Coran was satisfied and she was allowed to climb out again.  
“Is that it?” She asked him, eager to get away.  
“Let’s just see if they are in place first.” Coran said, turning away from her and to the control panel.  
“Good afternoon Pidge, Coran.” Shiro said, striding into the main room. “I need to borrow Pidge.”  
“Just a moment Shiro.” Coran said, not turning around. 

“Come on.” Shiro mouthed to Pidge, nodding towards the door. She smiled slightly and nodded before silently following him out of the room, leaving Coran to his tests.  
“Is everything alright?” Pidge asked. “I was doing some stuff in Black earlier, but I can clean that out.”  
“Hm? No that’s fine, finish up whatever you were doing in there. I thought that you could do with some lunch.”  
“I forgot about that, I got distracted by work. And this is not the way to the kitchen.”  
“I know.” Shiro said, smiling down at her for a second before looking up again and leading her down the hallways. 

He led her down a corridor that she didn’t think she had been down before, she usually only went five places, the lab, the hangar, the training room, the kitchen and her own bedroom. He opened a door and ushered her inside. The room opened up into a large room filled with plants. Pidge looked around in awe, her jaw dropping as she saw trees and bushes and countless, beautiful flowers. 

“I take it that you have never been in here?” He asked and she shook her head. “I thought you could do with some time off, give you chance to relax for a bit. I already bought food here for us.”  
“Thank you.” Pidge said, smiling brightly.  
“You work too hard.” Shiro said. “Maybe it’s time to finally let your hair down, metaphorically of course.” While Pidge had grown her out somewhat over the past years, it still wasn’t as long as it had been before she had joined the garrison, it brushed her shoulders and was usually pulled back by pins. 

Shiro led her to a small bench that had a box filled with food on it.  
“Don’t worry, I got Hunk to make it, so it should taste pretty good, don’t worry.” Pidge laughed, having tasted Shiro’s cooking before. While he hadn’t killed anyone, it was always bland, just like garrison rations. They sat down side by side and ate in silence. 

“I got this for you.” Shiro said, once they had finished eating. A small box wrapped in bright red paper, in his hand. Pidge looked down at it, shocked for a moment and then up at him, she couldn’t help but smile.  
“You remembered?” She said, just a little shocked.  
“Of course I did. You are finally eighteen. You’re all grown up Katie. Your family would be so proud of you.”

Pidge couldn’t help but throw herself at Shiro, pulling him into a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head into his shoulder. Her sudden movement unbalanced them. And they fell off the bench in a thud and with muffled curses.  
“Ow.” Shiro said, eyes closed.  
“Sorry.” Pidge tried to scramble to her feet, only to trip and fall down again.  
“And you call yourself an adult.” Shiro said, as they finally both managed to sit up again.  
“Barely. You are the only one who remembered anyway.” Pidge said sadly, she looked down at her hands, knowing that her eyes were filled with tears. 

Shiro put his real hand on her shoulder, she could feel his warm hand through her shirt.  
“Everyone has had a lot on their minds recently. I’ll talk to them later.”  
“Leave it, I don’t care.” Pidge said. “It doesn’t matter.”  
“Look at me Katie.” She looked up at him, her warm brown eyes looking into his steely grey eyes. “If it matters to you, and it clearly does, it matters. Now, open your present.” He held the present out to her again. She took it with thanks and ripped the paper off.

It was a necklace. It was on leather twine, with a silver pendant hanging on it. It was in the shape of a leaf.  
“It’s beautiful.” She said. “Thank you.”  
“I saw it at the swap moon the other week. It made sense to me.” Pidge carefully took it out of the box, watching as the light reflected off it.  
“Here, let me.” Shiro said, taking it off her. Pidge turned around. Shiro’s fingers brushed against the side of her neck as he clipped it on. 

“Thank you.” She said, turning back around, smiling, her fingers brushing over the pendant.  
“It’s no problem.” Pidge leant forwards, trying to kiss his cheek like she had seen so many others do as a way of thanks when Shiro moved his head ever so slightly and their lips brushed against each other’s. 

She jumped back, face red in an instance, Shiro blushed too.  
“I am so sorry, I was just trying to kiss your cheek. That was not meant to happen.” She tripped over her words, hands on her cheeks.  
“It’s fine.” Shiro said. “I didn’t mind.”  
“Pardon?” It was Shiro’s turn to flush red, having realised what he had said.  
“Screw it.” Shiro was renowned for his bravery. And this was not a time for cowardice. 

One hand on her upper arm and the other on the back of her head, he pulled her close again and kissed her. Pidge’s eyes went wide in shock, before they closed again. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around him and let him hold her close. After what felt like hours, though in fact it had been mere ticks, Shiro pulled away slightly.  
“Sorry.” He softly said.  
“It’s fine. I didn’t mind.” She said, smiling, eyes sparkling.  
“Good.” He said. And then he was kissing her again and Pidge found herself completely breathless. 

“Shiro are you in he-” Keith stopped dead upon seeing the two Paladins sat on the floor, arms around each other. “Yes! Lance, you owe me twenty!”


End file.
